


Honeymoon For One

by brokenhighways



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cruise Ship, Alternate Universe - Writing & Publishing, Drama & Romance, Honeymoon, Left at the Altar, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 09:50:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4096435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokenhighways/pseuds/brokenhighways
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To escape local gossip, jilted groom Jared Padalecki embarks on his honeymoon cruise —alone. Coaxed by a thrill seeking hunk he never expects to see again, he slowly sheds his good guy persona to have some well-deserved fun. </p><p>But unlike Vegas, what happens on the high seas doesn't always stay there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Honeymoon For One

**Author's Note:**

> Written for spn_meanttobe for this prompt (which sounds suspiciously similar to my summary lol!)
> 
> 51\. Honeymoon For One  
> To escape local gossip, jilted bride Michelle Bradford embarks on her honeymoon cruise —alone. Coaxed by a thrill seeking hunk she never expects to see again, she slowly sheds her good girl persona to have some well-deserved fun. 
> 
> But unlike Vegas, what happens on the high seas doesn't always stay there.

 

If you'd asked Jared where he would today six months ago, he probably would have said: "Happily married (hopefully) and enjoying life in a new city." Unfortunately for him, he's exactly where he was back then - at his work desk surrounded by stacks of paper and a computer full of emails asking him questions he's already answered repeatedly. And that would be okay, if he didn't have to deal with the embarrassment of everyone knowing that Tom, his ex, all but left him at the altar on their wedding day. That in itself was a disaster. He'd been on his way to the church, when he got the email - yes, an email - from Mike (Tom's best friend) informing him that his partner of four years had gotten cold feet. Which was fine, Jared would have understood that. He was nervous too, but then he made the mistake of calling Mike, who assured him that he had done everything to persuade Tom to just come down to the venue so they could talk. He made a follow up mistake in not clicking off the call when Mike didn't cut off on his end and listening to the following exchange:  
  
Tom: _How did he sound?_  
Mike: _Upset, obviously. God, I can't believe you, Tom. What you're doing to him. To me!_  
Tom: _I'm sorry. You didn't tell him did you?_  
Mike: _Of course not._  
Tom: _Thanks, baby. I know I've fucked up but I just, got tired of lying. To Jared, you and myself._ _You're the person I want to be with and..._  
  
He hung up before he could hear anymore. Of course, he still had to announce that the wedding was off and fend a millions questions from concerned friends and family. The latter was achieved by escaping and going on their honeymoon cruise by himself. The plan was to stay low and charge an excessive amount to Tom's credit card, because the sight of all the loved up couples made him want to throw up. However, that plan was derailed on day two when he met _The Guy_.

The Guy was...well, he was fucking hot. He bought Jared a couple of drinks and had this annoying habit of smirking at anything Jared said, but he was hot so it was okay. Drinks led to making out. Making out turned into full blown kisses, and shirtless rutting along with fucking. That in turn, led to The Guy dragging him to a couples massage and blowing him right there once the masseuses left, his lips were a swollen red and his green eyes twinkling when he winked and said, ' _Nothing like a massage with a happy ending, right?_ '. Jared's brain only processed 'happy' and 'ending' and he burst into tears right there and blurted out his entire story while The Guy pat his shoulder awkwardly.

After that, The Guy took it upon himself to cheer Jared up. There was mini golf, a very weird version of strip poker and, one night, a disastrous karaoke experience. It helped take Jared's mind of things. The guilt he felt at enjoying himself without Tom was easy to ignore when they had sex, which they did at an alarming rate (and in some cases, in positions that Jared didn't know were possible). On the last night, they parted ways with a surprisingly chaste kiss, and Jared foolishly blurted out. "You have the most talented tongue I've ever had physical contact with." In the midst of flushed cheeks and endless embarrassment, The Guy laughed before vanishing into the distance and Jared realised that he'd never asked for a name.  
  
Which brings him back to today.  
  
It's a big day for the publishing company where he works as an executive assistant to the CEO, Adrianne Palicki. He accepted a job up in New York City when he thought that he would be joining Tom, but once he got back from the cruise it made sense to stay. Quite why it had been difficult to pinpoint when it became clear that Polar Publishing was on the brink of a takeover due to clients being poached and an out of control expenses budget. So now Adrianne has no choice but to entertain potential buyers and today is the big one. Jensen Ackles, of Ackles Publishing House is arriving to survey the place and see if it's worth putting time and money into. Jared knows that Adrianne is desperate to minimise job losses and this Ackles guy is their best chance of that. So when she tells him to schmooze the guy, he rolls his eyes but doesn't say no.

In fact he doesn't think much of it until one of the reception assistant approaches his desk and says,  


"Hi, Jared. I've got a Jensen Ackles here, he said he's got a meeting with Ms Palicki." Jared saves his document quickly and looks up. He freezes instantly when he sees that Jensen Ackles is in fact _The Guy_. He's hit by a wave of memories; soft, smooth, skin under his hands, the feel of those plump lips on his and---Fuck. His. Life.  
  
"Jared?" The assistant is giving him a strange look and he waves her away, leaving Jensen standing there with that oh-so-familiar look on his face. That same sexy smirk that got Jared acting like a completely different person on the cruise.  
  
"You look different with your clothes on," Jensen says, and he's just openly grinning now. "I almost didn't recognize you." Jared’s face heats up but he doesn’t flinch and meets Jensen’s gaze head on. He's not going to let the words bother him.  
  
"Very funny," Jared mutters as he dials the extension to Adrianne's office. He can tell that it’s going to be a long week.  
  
~  
  
Jensen re-emerges at his desk two hours later, with a disappointed expression on his face. Adrianne is hot on his heels and she looks even more upset and Jared frowns.  
  
"Did the meeting go well?" he asks. Jensen gives him a long look before he turns to Adrianne and speaks, "Actually, I think I will take a look around the place tomorrow after all." Adrianne perks up so much that, all that's missing is a halo above her head. He shakes his head fondly, until he realises what's about to come next.  
  
"Jared will be on hand to show you around tomorrow," she replies, because she has no idea where everything is. So all of the endless tours are always down to Jared. "Just give him all the details and we should be good to go." Her cell phone rings before either of them can say anything and she makes her apologies and rushes back into her office.  
  
"So, you wanna grab lunch?" Jensen asks, managing to make the word sound lewd and freak Jared out at the same time.  
  
"No," he says hastily, grimacing when Jensen raises an eyebrow. He's supposed to be playing nice with the guy but the situation is just too awkward for that. Jensen just laughs to himself before gesturing to the computer.

“Pencil me in for eleven am. I have a breakfast thing that I don’t get out of.”

Ten minutes after he leaves, the receptionist is back by Jared’s desk and she hands him a business card hastily before rushing away before he can thank her. He’s not surprised to see Jensen’s name printed on it in a clean typeface, along with his number. He flips it over and sees that there’s some text scribbled onto the white card. Upon closer inspection he manages to decipher the messy scrawl, which reads: _I wonder if I still have the most talented tongue you’ve ever come into physical contact with?_ , followed by a wonky smiley face.

Jared groans. He’s _never_ going to live that down, is he?

~

He doesn’t mean to call Jensen, it kind of just… _happens_. One minute he’s sitting there staring at the apple pop tart he’s made for dinner and wondering for the millionth time why he never bothered to cook, and why he ever thought for a second that Tom was the one when the man was an awful communicator. And the next, he’s got his cell in his hand and Jensen’s driver is giving him directions to the hotel.

When he gets to said hotel, Jared is surprised to see that the lights in Jensen’s penthouse suite have been dimmed, there are candles on the table, and covered plates of food that smell really good.

Just not good enough for Jared to sit back and let Jensen make a mockery of him. He waits patiently for Jensen to actually acknowledge his presence, growing increasingly irate as time ticks by. This was a huge mistake. Agreeing to the schmoozing and not feigning an illness the second he saw Jensen at the office. Clearly the universe isn’t done making a mockery of his life this year.

"So, I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I just ordered a steak," Jensen says once he's done with his phone call. "And I ordered wine but we can--why are you looking at me like that?"

The flare of embarrassment rising up within him is probably evident on his face but Jared can't help his outburst. If he hasn't been able to get the events of the cruise out of his head, he's willing to bet that Jensen remembers all of it in vivid Technicolor.  
  
"You've got to be kidding, right?" he asks, gesticulating at the made-up table. "You've literally seen me at my worst. What the hell do you want with me? I'm not that weak, pitiful guy I was on the cruise."  
  
Gone is the smirk and easy confidence. Jensen's face is blank, as if he's not sure what emotion will set Jared off next. It reminds him of Tom and he feels that familiar stab of pain in his chest. He watches as Jensen's throat convulses as he swallows. He feels a wave of pride; he must have hit a nerve. He waits for Jensen to let him down, ignoring the voice in his head that's reminding him that it isn't just his personal reputation at stake here. Still, he's never heard an unprofessional word about Ackles, so...he's sure the outcome won't affect the possible purchase of the company. Jared's so busy convincing himself that he's not fucking up majorly that he almost misses it when Jensen says,  
  
"I don't think you're weak." The words are soft-spoken and genuine, Jared doesn't know how he knows he just does. He's not sure why Jensen's actual interest scares him more than the thought of him looking for a repeat of their previous dalliance, but it does. "And maybe that was you at your worst, but, I don't know. Maybe that makes _me_ nuts, but I actually liked you. And I thought that we could maybe--" Jensen cuts himself off abruptly, his mouth suddenly pressed into a thin line.  
  
Jared bites back a hysterical laugh. That he can't even bring himself to physically believe a word that Jensen is saying tells him just how well this will work, but hell, he might as well use Jensen's feelings to his advantage. Guilt spreads in his chest but he beats it down. The company is bigger than whatever he and Jensen may or may not have. People are depending on Adrianne to pull them through this, they have mouths to feed, mortgages payments to keep up with, bills and God knows what else. Hell, for his own damn sake, Jared's got to play nice. Just until the takeover is complete and then he can go back to pretending that Jensen never happened.

“You though that we could maybe?” he repeats, pushing down the tiny voice in head screaming for him to get out _now_. “Look, now that we might be working together I think it’s best that we keep things professional.”

Jensen eyes him warily before he sits down at the table and picks up a fork. He gestures at the seat across from him. “Sit. Tell me all about the company.” Jared can't help being hesitant but he pulls up a chair. He’s fucking starving after all.

~  
  
The next day, Jared goes into work at his usual time of seven am, yawning his way all through the lobby and elevator ride up. Once he got back to his apartment, Jensen texted him and that spiralled into a full blown conversation about which James Bond was hotter. Jared's only entertaining Jensen for the sake of the company of course, but Jensen is definitely less stuck-up than he expected now that he knows who he is in the 'real world'. Once they got past the awkwardness, they had a nice conversation about the company and some of the terrible assistants that Jensen’s been through. Maybe this whole thing won’t be as traumatic as Jared first thought.

Not that he expects anything from Jensen. Given that he has four hours before the man gets here, Jared resolves to forget all about the previous night and turns his attention to making sure Chad from accounting doesn't have any of his sexploitation DVDs lying around, amongst other things. Adrianne texts him around eight to say that she's running late, which could mean a whole range of things. She could be with that useless boyfriend of hers, or off shopping somewhere, or maybe even having an expensive breakfast that Jared himself would shy away from. Sometimes Jared wonders why he's putting so much effort into trying to save the company when she's acting like things are normal.  
  
By nine, Jared's finally starting on his actual work for the day when there's a knock on the office door and the receptionist sticks her head in through the door.  
  
"Jared, Mr Ackles is here to see you." Jared bites back a wry chuckle, not even surprised that Jensen's two hours early. It's a smart move and you don't get to be CEO of one of the country’s top publishing houses by being dumb. The receptionist clears her throat gently and Jared realises he's been staring into space and smiling. He clears his own throat and nods. "Send him in and uh, not to be rude or anything but why not just call my desk?" The girl blushes and looks so uncomfortable that he feels bad for asking.  
  
"Our phone is playing up again so we have to pass all information on physically. Apparently the maintenance guy quit last week?" Jared nods at her and frowns. He generally doesn't deal with the hiring and firing here but he should have received notice about this the second it happened. He's busy searching through his email when Jensen knocks on the door and walks through, bemusement painted all over his face. Adrianne still isn't here and Jared's starting to feel irritated for the first time this morning.  
  
"I'm ready for my grand tour," Jensen says by way of greeting, ever present smirk on his face. Jared gives him a harmless smile in return, locks his computer and grabs his keys. He watches as Jensen eyes the locked door of Adrianne's office and asks, "Is Ms Palicki not here?"  
  
Jared smiles tightly. 'She's actually meeting with one of our clients at the moment. We were unable to reschedule."  
  
"In that case, I'll come back tomorrow," Jensen says nonchalantly. "You wanna go grab a late breakfast? My associate cancelled on me and I am starving."  
  
"No, no," Jared says hurriedly. The sooner they get this tour out of the way, the better. Adrianne being a no show isn't a problem when Jared knows the layout of this place better than anyone. "We can do the tour without her. I've got everything covered." He fires off a quick text to Adrianne as he logs off his computer.  
  
Jensen eyes him for a long moment with a suspicious glint in his eye. There's a long, drawn out moment of silence before he sighs heavily, steps inside and lets the door shut door behind him.  
  
"Look, Jared the only reason I didn't close the chapter on Polar is because of you," Jensen says. "I didn't want you to be out of a job in two months’ time, but I have to say that Ms Palicki is incompetent. She leaves everything to you. The clients that have moved to my company only have good things to say about one person that doesn’t already work for me. You wanna know whthat is?”

Jared stands up from his seat and shrugs. “I don’t know, who?” He’s starting to feel more than annoyed, both at Adrianne _and_ Jensen. And Tom too while he’s at it. Suddenly he feels like he’s being pulled in various directions by all three of them, and he just wants to be still. Just for one moment.

“You!” Jensen replies. “And that’s only because you’re clearly doing the work that your boss should be doing. And don’t give me any crap about being her assistant. I have an assistant and I know what she does for me.”

FHe shrugs again. “That’s awesome. But you know what? Adrianne is a good boss, and okay yeah, she might not be the best boss or the most organised but she cares about her clients, and all of us that still work for her. She’s not some corporate shark like you.” Jensen rolls his eyes and leans on the door. Jared’s not sure what there is to be annoyed about, everything he said is true.

“You’re just upset because you know that I’m right, just like you know that you shouldn’t have turned down that job in New York you had lined up before the drama with your wedding.”

Jared is slightly taken aback. He barely even remembers anything about that past the fact that Tom was cheating on him but he thinks he’d remember applying to Ackles Publishing.

“Your asshole ex-boyfriend put in an application on your behalf,” Jensen clarifies, suddenly looking sheepish. “I didn’t want to say anything but he used to be one of the lawyers with the firm and he put in a good word and I said the job was yours.”

“Oh, that’s nice, really nice,” Jared remarks. “The guy who was fucking around behind my back and the guy who fucked me on my pathetic jilted-at-the-altar-woe-is-me honeymoon cruise passing me around like a piece of meat.”

Jensen laughs bitterly and shakes his head. “You know, I’ve had it. You keep acting like I did something wrong on that cruise and maybe the way I approached this was all wrong, maybe we should have just pretended it never happened but we didn’t and I’m sick of defending myself. The only reason I’m here is because of _you._ I actually like you for some crazy reason and I didn’t want to see you out of a job.” For some reason Jared can’t connect either of those things in his mind. Call it low-self-esteem or whatever, but he finds it hard to believe that Jensen would really be interested in him.

“Well then you’re wasting your time,” he says thickly, suddenly not caring about schmoozing Jensen. Adrianne might be one of his good friends, but for once, she can fight her own battles. “I don’t like you like that, Jensen, and yeah we had fun on the cruise but that’s all it. That’s all it’s ever going to be.” There’s a weird stabbing pain in his chest but he ignores it. This is for the best. He’d rather be on his own than be with someone who pities him.

“Fine,” Jensen says with a nod. “Fine.” He moves to open the door and stops briefly, looking back at Jared one more time. For a second he looks like he wants to say something else but he turns away and leaves. Jared flinches when the door slams. His phone buzzes and he grabs it from the desk and glances down to see a text from Adrianne that reads _stall him_.

He blows out a breath and sinks back down onto his chair. Everything is quiet and still but he doesn’t feel any better.

~

In the weeks that follow, Jared’s caught up in a swarm of emails and phone calls as they go through an unsteady period wherein clients are unsure about what’s going on. Adrianne seems to be more focused now that the reality of situation has hit her and he starts to feel bad about messing up with Jensen. When he tells her what happened, all Adrianne says is,

“Oh, well sweetie, you have to follow your heart and I wouldn’t want to work with a guy that makes you uncomfortable anyway.” Which only makes him realise that he followed his insecurities and low self-esteem instead of his head – or heart. The truth is that besides everything that went on the cruise, they did actually have a good time when they were just hanging out. Jensen confided in him about how he sometimes felt like he had to act a certain way because of his job and how hard it was to pretend to be someone else. Of course they’d been pretty drunk at the time, but after all of the anger and soul-searching, it filtered into his mind recently on one of those nights where he lies awake at night and wonders if he’s made a big mistake.

Watching everyone at the company scramble around in the midst of uncertainty makes Jared think that he only has on option here. He has to call Jensen.

When he informs Adrianne she deflates before him and opens one of her desk drawers and pulls out a huge binder. “This is the proposal I showed him back when we had that meeting, which he pretty much destroyed right on the spot.” She actually looks a little hurt by that and Jared just wants to hug her.

“Why didn’t you ask me for help?” Jared asks as he flips through it. At first glance it doesn’t look too bad but it’s not like Jared’s an expert on proposals besides assisting with them. Though he did take all of those business classes back in college, so he could probably write a decent one if he really need to.

She leans against her desk and shrugs, “I wanted to know that I actually had what it takes to do something right for this company for once, because I know that I lean on you a lot and I know that there’s all of the whispering about me not doing anything—“

“I’m your assistant – I’m supposed to assist you,” Jared replies in a placating tone, returning the wistful smile she gives him. Jared’s not stupid – yes, she takes advantage and yes, maybe he should stand up for himself more but they’re friends. He can’t just stand by and watch as she falls. “How about we go through this proposal together before we call Jensen?”

~

Two days after that, it’s finally the weekend and Jared spends the early hours of Saturday on what used to be his usual routine – going for a run, and picking up the pace until his feet are pounding in sync with his heartbeat, faint thud sounding in his ears in tandem with the workout music filtering through his headphones. He feels good for the first the first time in a long time as he turns back into his street, and if he wasn't soaked in sweat and feeling kind of gross, he'd probably just keep running until he collapses. Which doesn't sound happy at all, but that's how he feels. That all evaporates when he reaches the front of his house. Not only is Tom standing out on the front lawn, Jensen's there with him and they're arguing - and not in their indoor voices either. Now Jared's house isn't exactly in the pinnacle of neighbourhoods but he's never witnessed any loud arguments on any of the other lawns. With an eye roll he steps forward to try and diffuse the situation and hears the tail end of Tom's last outburst.

"You shouldn't be here," Tom is saying while Jensen rolls his eyes and mutters under his breath angrily. He spots Jared first and while he doesn't look apologetic he nods gently. Jared ignores him and turns his attention to Tom, who _really_ shouldn't be here. Despite the fact that he really doesn't want either of them in his space right now, he invites them into his house and guides them to the kitchen. Neither of them take a seat at the table but Jared's not bothered. He retrieves a bottle of water from the fridge and takes a few swigs before he finally asks the question that's been bubbling on his tongue for the last five minutes.

"Tom, what the hell are you doing here?" he asks, doing his best to keep his voice steady. Truth be told, all of the calmness from before? Totally gone. But he's not going to lose it in front of Tom, he's not going to give anyone that power.

Tom takes a step forward and replies, "I'm here to see you. To apologise for all that happened."

"You own a phone," Jensen says sternly. Jared gives him a calculated look and Jensen puts his hands up in an apologetic manner.

"He's right though, you do own a phone," he says to Tom. "Not that I would pick up, because I really don't owe you a damn thing."

"Look, I know what I did was shitty, Jared," Tom admits. "I know that. And I know that I've had plenty of time to explain myself and...I know that no amount of apologies will make what I did okay, but I don't want there to be animosity between us." Jared scoffs. Tom has some nerve.

"You cheated on me with _Mike_ , of all people - _Mike_ ," Jared spits out. "And not only did you do that, you left it until ten minutes before we supposed to say our vows, and you got the fucking asshole you were cheating on me with to give me the good news. So, you know what? Fuck you."

"Jared..." Tom trails off and Jared wants to laugh. Of course that would shut him up. Tom always was a spineless bastard. "Well, fine. I can accept that but Jensen's not a guy that you want to be messing around with either. It certainly didn't take you long to move on did it?"

Jared's never been an advocate of violence but the only way to describe the sound of Jensen's fist hitting Tom square in the face is _satisfying_. There's a trickle of blood trailing from Tom's nose when he rights himself and Jared snaps into action and interjects himself between them and pushes Jensen back. Jensen starts to protest but stops when Jared signals for him to. Jared's not sure how his heart isn't beating a million miles an hour right now but one thing is clear. He has nothing left to say to Tom.

~

Later, once he manages to throw Tom out and tells Jensen to do whatever the hell he wants while he goes to have a shower, Jared comes downstairs to find Jensen sitting at the kitchen table, kneading his fingers repeatedly and mumbling to himself. Tom's words about Jensen haven't changed Jared's mind about the guy - them having anything but a business relationship is off the cards. If that's why Jensen's here, he'll have no problems throwing him out too.

"Do you want a sandwich or something?" he asks while rooting around inside his fridge. There was a moment or two where he felt self-conscious about the state of his place but hell, it doesn't matter anyway. He's not trying to impress Jensen. And--he doesn't need to keep justifying it to himself either.

"No, I don't," Jensen says. "This isn't a personal visit - I'm here to tell you in person that I got the Polar proposal. It was good. Much better than what I first flipped through, and I called Ms Palicki to let her know and also to clarify something that I'd noticed." Jared frowns. Given that most of the edits were _his_ he knows for sure that everything was as perfect as it could be in the time they'd done it. Even the list of employees they'd have to cut was in order, as sucky as that was - Adrianne insisted that they needed to have it in the proposal if they wanted Jensen to take them seriously, and she was the expert, right?

"What did you notice?" he asks when he realises that Jensen is watching him silently. "I went through it all when I printed it and I thought it was good."

Jensen sighs. "It was good, because you let Ms Palicki manipulate you into doing her work for her - again. And, I know that you and she are friends, but friends don't always have your best interest at heart."

"You mean like how you had sex with me repeatedly on the cruise even though you already knew who I was?" Never let it be said that Jared doesn't take productive showers. There's been something bugging him ever since Jensen told him that Tom had asked him to get Jared a job at his offices. It didn't take long for the pieces to fall together when he realised that Tom definitely would have called him up to bitch about all the shit he charged to his credit card. He was an accountant and kind of frugal with his money. After doing some digging around in the box of wedding stuff he definitely wasn't keeping for sentimental reasons, he'd realised that the cruise was a _gift_ from _Jensen_. Jared would be lying if he said he hadn't felt aggrieved by that for a while but he's maybe not as angry as he should be.

"I didn't realise until afterwards and then you were telling me everything and I didn't want to upset you any more than you were already." Jensen seems sincere enough and Jared doesn't disbelieve him, he just doesn't understand why Jensen was on the cruise in the first place.

"Honestly?" Jensen says when Jared asks. "I haven't been on vacation in a _long_ time and my meddling assistant thought she was being cute by booking me and my non-existent wife a room when she was doing yours and Tom's. She even scheduled some fake meeting at some company to get me into the car with my driver who had no issue with dropping me off at the damn dock." He looks flabbergasted just talking about it and Jared can't help laughing at him. It is kind of funny. Jensen's joins in briefly before their laughter dies down and they both sober up.

Jared smiles weakly. "I believe you - I know we don't know each other all that well, but I know that you're not that kind of guy. And not counting all of the sex stuff, you were really sweet - that's why I was so embarrassed when you showed up at the office. I had fun with you but. It’s still so linked to Tom and all of that bullshit."

"I'm sorry about that, I really am...but I haven't spoken to him since I got back from the cruise - that's why he was so angry with me earlier," Jensen replies, "He tried to give me some song and dance about how hard it was for him and I wasn't having it. You might not want anything to do with me, but I really like you. A lot...and I get that you maybe don't feel the same way. Either way I have your back. More than some of your so called friends."

Jared frowns at that, remembering that they were initially talking about the proposal before he interjected and made everything about _them_ \- and wait, isn't he the one who wanted to keep things strictly business?

"You were saying something about Adrianne?" Jared wonders what she’s done this time.

Jensen nods and winces slightly. "She told me she did that proposal over by herself with the help of her lawyer or something, which I don't believe because there at least ten things in there that even the most incompetent lawyer would pick up on. That wasn’t even the issue – right on top of the list of people that she felt the company could afford to lose was your name.” Jared’s glad that he’s just been ignoring the sandwich ingredients he took out of the fridge because he’d probably be wearing them right about now. What Jensen is saying makes no sense. Maybe it was a mistake?

“Nope,” Jensen speaks when Jared puts the question to him, "I flat out asked her and she told me that you were unprofessional, you had a habit of interjecting into things you knew nothing about, a bad rapport with clients and you that you make huge mistakes. She really threw you under the bus, Jared and I…I have to say that I was shocked. She isn’t someone I would go into business with – never has been and I came here to tell you that I’m not going ahead with the takeover.

“I’ve heard things about Ms Palicki, bad things and that’s partly why I flew down here to see just who it was that was pissing off my competitors so much, but now I see that they’ve just seen what I have – a bad egg and undoubtedly a bad investment to make when millions of dollars are on the line. And I think you know this Jared, but you do that thing I assume you do where you put up with things you shouldn’t just because someone’s your friend or your fiancé. For once, I want you to consider yourself and where you want to be. You might be her friend but she sure as hell isn't yours.”

To say that Jared is stunned would be an understatement, but he is. Despite the fact that he knows better than anyone else that Adrianne can be partial to throwing people under the bus.

“W-what’s going to happen with the company – we’re barely breaking even and---“ Jared has to cut himself off when he feels tears prick at the corner of his eyes. Considering all that he’s shared with Adrianne all over the years, he can’t believe this, can’t believe that she’d just throw him to the wolves when he’s been there every step of the way. Jensen stands up from the kitchen table, chair legs scraping against the tiled floor. He pushes his chair back and makes his way over to Jared. He stops a couple of inches away and places his hand on Jared’s shoulder.

“Look, I know that this is going to sound really insensitive but she was probably trying to save her own skin. It’s no secret that everyone at Polar thinks that _you’re_ the one who does most of her work and she knows that and—“

“Don’t,” Jared interrupts. “Don’t try and excuse what she’s done. I get it. Business is cutthroat and friendship will always come a very distant second. I…thank you for telling me.” Jensen’s hand is still on his shoulder, its presence warm and comforting as Jared breathes in the smell of Jensen’s cologne. The air is charged between them and Jared’s struck by the intensity of Jensen’s eyes. For a second he’s back on the cruise, in a plane that seemed to exist between reality and freakin’ Narnia and he just wants to forget everything. Just for a second. He leans forward and kisses Jensen slowly. Jensen’s lips are soft and pliant as he responds but seconds later, Jensen pushes him back gently and looks down at the ground. Jared can see him biting as his bottom lip and he backs up and tries to act like he’s not feeling the bitter sting of rejection.

“I…I can’t do this, not when I know you don’t want anything more,” Jensen says, uncharacteristically nervous. Jared considers making a joke but he can already feel how flat it would be. So he stands there instead and watches as Jensen walks out of his house and out of his life.

~

Despite the fact that Jared is half an hour late to work the following Monday, Adrianne’s office door is locked and she’s nowhere to be seen. Moira Stewart, author of several cookbooks is sitting in the small waiting area portion of Jared’s office with a bored look on her face. Jared almost feels bad that he wasn’t here to greet her but she’s Adrianne’s client not his. He shouldn’t have to conduct meetings by himself when it’s not in his job description. No, he’s the idiot doing a job he’s over qualified for while his supposed friend takes all of the credit. He scoffs are the sheer audacity of it all.

“Good morning, Jared,” Moira calls when he smiles at her. “Are you alright?” He’s about to give her a fairly standard answer when another idea pops into his head. Adrianne might not deserve to have Polar saved by anyone else but that doesn’t mean all of their clients should be left in the lurch.

“No,” he tells her. “No I’m not because this company has been deceiving you and I haven’t done anything to change that. But from today, I am. Adrianne has been ripping you off since you signed with us. She charges you twice as much as our next highest paying customer because she saw that your husband was very wealthy. She put a clause in your contract that says that we get fifty percent of all of your eBook sales. And the delay with your last book wasn’t due to the Imaging department it was because she misplaced all of the plans and ideas that you’d talked about because she thinks your recipes are pretentious and boring.” Given that Moira started her recipes as a way to help her husband and other people suffering from heart disease, Jared never quite understood why Adrianne was so dismissive of content that was making her company a lot of money. In light of recent events, he can now see that she just isn't a good person. He can sugar coat it all he wants, but that is what it boils down to.

Moira stares at him, her eyes wide in confusion as she stutters slightly. Jared leaves her sitting on the leather couch and grabs one of the Ackles Publishing business cards he has on his desk – he checks that it’s the one without the comment about Jensen’s talented tongue – and hands it to her.

“I’m not sure how they operate but it can’t be any worse than Polar,” he informs her. “You deserve a company that’s honest with you. And you can just tell Mr Ackles that I passed his information to you.” Moira takes it from him and gives him a wistful look. Jared wonders why he even said that last part and then replays their kiss from Saturday in his mind for the thousandth time, not even bothering to pretend that he can’t still feel the phantom touch of Jensen’s lips on his own.

“I always had my suspicions about Ms Palicki but I knew her father many years ago and thought it would be nice to support her,” she says with a sad smile. “Thank you for the card and for your help with the first book – did you ever master how to make that carrot cake?” Jared grins at her as he remembers her many attempts to get him to learn how to cook and bake. At the time he mostly relied on Tom so he resisted but after Adrianne bailed on the photo sessions for the book, he kind of became her de facto in that area and spent some time watching Moira do her thing while she tried and failed to teach him not to be a complete and utter failure in the kitchen.

“Tom can attest to the fact that I mastered how _not_ to bakea carrot cake.” Mentioning Tom doesn’t bring up the usual stab of pain and Jared is extremely grateful. It’s been a long time coming, but…he really does feel as if he’s over that entire situation. Yes, it’s always going to hurt, always going to be the main cause of any lingering doubt, but it is no longer at the forefront of his mind and emotions.

Moira smiles again, this time brighter. “Oh, how is Tom these days, is he treating you well?”

“He left me on our wedding day for his best friend,” Jared answers nonchalantly. “My biggest regret is that I paid all of lot of money for a delicious wedding cake and I didn’t even get to eat it.” It's said as a joke, though it is true. He still has dreams about that damn cake. She looks a little unsure at first but she laughs as she’s getting up from the couch. Jared offers to give her a lift home but she waves him off with a friendly hug and a promise to see him later on.

~

Things at Polar don't pick up until mid-week when six people quit out of the blue. The Human Resources department turn in their reports but Jared doesn’t bother to read them. It’s Adrianne’s problem not his. Aldis, the CFO drops by to have a word with her and the look on his face when Jared informs him that she hasn’t shown up to work all week tells him that Aldis won’t be around for too long either. Jared’s literally in the middle of a solitaire game when he finds a crumpled note on his desk that says ‘ _Gone to Paris for a few days to think about the whole takeover thing! Be back soon xx’_. He snorts, crumples it back up and tosses it into his waste can.

Unhappy clients start to leave the company and Jared’s phone rings more often than usual. Instead of going above and beyond to make sure they're all happy he simply lets them know that Adrianne is out of office and she'll get back to them when she's available. There are moments when he feels petty but at the same time, he feels like his behaviour is justified. That's only reinforced when Aldis pays him another visit and admits that people haven't been paid in weeks.

"The people that haven't left are getting worried, Jared, and so am I," Aldis tells him, like Jared can just click his fingers and magic up enough money to pay everyone.

"There's nothing I can do about it, man," Jared says from behind his computer. "Adrianne is off in Paris with her sleazebag boyfriend not giving two shits about any of us."

Aldis frowns at that for a while before his face changes and smoothens out. Jared can almost hear the words before they come out.

"I was offered a job here in town with Ackles Publishing. They're opening up a new division not too far from here and I gotta tell you, the pay's better," he says. "But the one thing I am is loyal so tell Adrianne that she has a week--"

"A week to what?" Both Jared and Aldis look up to see Adrianne walking through the main office door, Mulberry handbag perched on her wrist and iPhone in hand. She has the nerve to smile, like she hasn't left the company in the lurch over the past few days.

"A week until I take up the job that Jensen Ackles has offered me," Aldis tells her. "We've been trying to get a hold of you since the beginning of the week." Adrianne's eyes widen and Jared can see the moment that the gravitas of the situation hits her.

"Oh, and I found out that you put me right on top of the list of people that the company could lose without having too many major problems." Jared decides to chime in, not caring if she's upset about Aldis' thing.

Adrianne sighs and walks past Aldis and places her bag and phone on Jared's desk. For once she doesn't look as put together as she usually does. Her make-up is minimal and he can tell she knows that the game is up.

"Jared, I'm so sorry," she replies. "I know that what I did was wrong but...the rumours about you being the secret behind my success are damaging - it's not just your job that's at risk, it's mine too." Jared shakes his head at her in disgust. It figures that she can't see past her own personal plight to see just how much her betrayal hurts the person who's supposed to be one of her best friends.

"Adrianne, we all know that those rumours are true," Aldis points out. "If anything you should be grateful that Jared's stuck by you through thick and thin. And you know what, we all know that it was your lies that jeopardised the takeover and I was going to stick around to see if we could maybe save Polar because incompetent CEO or not, we've done some good work here. But I'm done. You'll have my letter of resignation by the end of closing." Adrianne tries in vein to get him to come back but Aldis marches out of the office and ignores her calls.

It’s Jared, sucker that he is, who can't help feeling sympathetic because at the end of the day, they've been friends for years and they can't just switch that off. He's known her longer than he knew Tom and she did him a solid in giving him this job at this company. It's just obvious now that he should have moved on all of those times that he thought about it. Maybe then Adrianne wouldn't have needed to rely on him so heavily and they'd be in better place. Or maybe she would have found someone else, there's no way to know, all he knows is that he's done.

"I'm leaving too," he says, surprised that the words are falling out his mouth right now. "I've taken all of the calls and asked them to call you back and I've forwarded it all on to you. I can't work for you anymore. There's just...I don't want to start getting pettyand do things that we'll both regret."

Adrianne's shocked expression is kind of a sight to see but Jared knows that if he stays her, the claws will come out eventually.

"Nothing you say will change my mind," he adds. "Let's just go our separate ways and maybe one day we can work on our friendship."

All Adrianne can do at him is nod, because she's clearly still in a shocked stupor. While it makes him sad, there's no denying the fact that he already feels like a huge weight has been lifted from him.

~

By some luck, Jared manages to find out that Jensen's still staying in the same hotel suite and he decides to make his way over there. Quite what he wants to say is a mystery but given that he's no longer speaking to Adrianne and most of his friends are in another state, he doesn't have many people to talk to. Plus Jensen seems to be linked to both situations so it makes sense. Right? He's not here for any other reason.

Okay, so maybe he has been doing some thinking about the kiss. And everything else that's happened. Maybe he's considering the fact that despite all that's happened, Jensen seems to have his back more than anyone and they admittedly didn't do a lot of talking when they first met. That is always what Jared goes back to but given that he wouldn't want anyone to judge him based on those events, it might be wrong of him to base any doubts on that situation. It happened and they had fun. That's all it is. Right?

The door opens before he can continue that thought and Jensen's standing in the doorway, with that familiar smirk on his face.

"You do realise that reception told me you were on your way up ten minutes ago, right?" Jared snorts under his breath. Of course they did. He follows Jensen when he beckons him into the suite. This time there's no candlelit dinner or dimmed lights, just a bunch of papers spread on the table along with two cell phones. He directs Jared to the lounge area and they settle down on the sleek, leather couch.

"If you're busy, I can come back another time," Jared offers. He knows that Jensen's planning on opening up a division of his company here in town - how could he not, given everything happening at Polar.

"No that's fine, I needed to take a break anyway," Jensen replies. "And I wanted to talk to you anyway about our new division." By the time Jared finally left Polar, it was common knowledge that Jensen had offered everyone _but_ Adrianne a job.

"I heard that you offered people jobs," he states. "Except for Adrianne...” Jared trails off, wary about sounding like he's casting aspersions. Jensen's free to do what he do what he likes with his company.

Jensen smiles. "I did offer her one, just because I know that she's your friend but it was too beneath her or something. I guess she just embellished that too." Jared shakes his head. Of course she did.

"And what about me, where do I fit in?" Jared's not just asking about the job anymore and from the way Jensen's shoulders stiffen, he knows it too.

"Jared...I...we can't keep going through this each time we happen to see each other," Jensen answers. "You know how I feel about you, so I guess the ball is in your court."

Jared takes a deep breath and steels himself for what he's about to say. It definitely hasn't been easy, falling for someone else so soon after Tom and going through the various stages of denial but after everything, he's willing to just take a leap and say fuck it. Maybe this is a chance at happiness or maybe it's another stepping stone in his life. Either way, he has to take a chance while he still can.

"I like you too," he admits. "I've liked you since the cruise and I...I'm finally not embarrassed about it anymore because I feel like you actually know me - you have my back and you've actually helped me to grow as a person and I don't want to end up regretting not giving you a chance, so I guess I'm willing to give things a try - if you want to of course, because if you---"

Jensen leans forward and cuts him off with a chaste kiss before pressing a finger to Jared's lips. "You could have just stopped at willing to give things a try - that's all I've wanted since we bumped into each other. Any guy who compliments my talented tongue is a keeper." Jared swats at Jensen playfully as he blushes because he _still_ can't believe that he said that. As they laugh with each other he starts to think that deciding to go on that honeymoon cruise might turn out to be the best thing that's ever happened to him.

**Fin**


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